January 12, 2010

Yesterday, Nike signed an 8-year, $70m deal with Masha. Guess we know who's buying lunch from now on. She's also going to get a percentage of sales from the line she'll be "developing". It's almost like she's working on commission!

In other endorsement news, Sergio Tacchini appears to have dropped both my boyfriend Tommy and Flavia in order to fund their Nole deal. Tommy's pretty obvious, but Flavia? Not cool, ST. Not cool.

January 11, 2010

Things looked rough in Sydney today, with top seeds and high-ranked players crashing out, retiring, and having uncomfortably close calls. Caro, JJ, Bepa (still having problems with that ankle) and Nads all lost, while Vika got played a little too close for comfort by Sabine. And while Sam losing to Flavs is not, on its face, a terrible result, the quality of play she showed was... uh, not good. What up, Sammy?

The only seed that lost on the guy's side was Igor Andreev. I think his hair is getting him down.

January 09, 2010

I know she says "ballet" but I think she must mean "ballroom". Otherwise it makes no sense. Makiri would have been an adorable DanceSport child. I can totally see her with eye jewels and glitter hairspray.

But that was not the only fun time to be had on the Auckland Morning Zoo this year...

Flavia and I have pretty much identical reactions to the concept of "New Zealand Pizza".

The Cone throws down over the superiority of French cheese and explains-- hilariously-- all the jokes people make about her name.

So nice to see Yanina bounce back from what could have been a really traumatic and destructive experience during her off-season. Yeah, Flavia really dropped her game (or, more accurately, stopped playing it) after being up 3-0 in the first, but I was still impressed with how Yanina came back to play last week like nothing ever happened. And crap, Belgium would be looking pretty good for Fed Cup right now in a perfect world where people actually play Fed Cup.

January 08, 2010

She's been playing amaaaazing. It's like the fall never happened. Totes fabulous. It'll be very interesting to see if she continues that kind of domination over Yanina. Speaking of whom, it's too bad Shahar's run ended, but she still played better in Auckland than she's played for a long time.

January 07, 2010

"The Economist, once a year, heads out on this mission to see the future. They try to predict the coming year... I am a fan of The Economist-- that said, I think this project where they try to predict the coming year is totally ridiculous. You have these great reporters who have to write about, for instance, what's going to happen in China in the year 2010 and they bring so much knowledge to this question, but in the end, because no one can know the future, they end up making these kind of equivocal 'on the one hand, on the other hand' kinds of predictions... who cares?? ... 'Here's a bunch of random things that may or may not happen, believe whatever you want.'" -- Ira Glass, This American Life ("2010")

That right there is pretty much my personal opinion of predictions in sports like tennis. Who cares? Mostly, nothing means anything. The business of predictions, proclamations, assertions made on the basis of a single match (or one good week) is misleading and serves no purpose in an objective sport like tennis. This year especially, when there are so many comebacks (from both retirement and injury) and a string of Very Good Players who had Very Bad Years last year, proclaiming the future seems particularly futile. Trust me, I've been in sports where predictions and what certain people say and who won which events actually matters. You don't want any part of it.

I don't even get why people like to do it (is it so you can say later that you were right? Usually I could get into that). All you can do in tennis is watch and see what happens. To me, that's part of the beauty of it. I hate trying to guess what's going to happen. I'd much rather take stock as I go along.

So.

Things That--Really Guys-- Seem Completely Meaningless Right Now

Sorana Cirstea d Sam Stosur (Hopman Cup)

I can't even count how many times I read after this match that Sorana had served notice or some such. Yes, Sorana played that match-- at least the last set and a half-- very well. But what's earthshattering about that? We all know Sorana Cirstea can play good tennis. What we don't know is whether she can play good tennis consistently enough to make a significant impact on the tour. Considering that she followed up her (impressive) defeat of Stosur with losses to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Melanie Oudin, the win (and the declarations that followed) seems particularly meaningless.

Sabine Lisicki d Elena Dementieva (Hopman Cup)

See above. We all know that Sabine can have big wins. We also all know that Elena can have very bad losses. How did Sabine follow up her (spectacular) defeat of Dementieva? By getting played way too close for comfort by a 15-year-old who's not even full time on tour yet.

Melanie Oudin's "Sub-Par" Performance at Hopman CupMelanie's always down in small events and then up in Slams and Fed Cup (or, at least, that's the pattern she established last year). Her performances at Hopman Cup indicate nothing other than that-- so far-- that trend looks to continue.

"Comeback" Wins By Daniela Hantuchova, Alize Cornet, and Dominika CibulkovaAll of these women are former top-20 (or even top-5) players with immense amounts of talent, loads of past results, and a not-so-hot 2009. All of them had pretty stellar early matches this week that looked like their peak selves, prompting some to call them contenders for the second week of the Australian Open. All of them immediately had their asses handed to them by higher-ranked, more consistent players. Ahem. (Not that they couldn't be, mind you, it's just silly to declare that based on two good matches that follow 6 months--or more-- of nothing.)

Things That Hold My Interest

Laura Robson (Hopman Cup)Laura's new on the pro scene and has her youth and lack of record working against her in the "where might this be going" game. She also, should her mind turn out to tend towards these kinds of things, has a huge disadvantage in all the pressure that is being, and will continue to be piled on her by the British media. But it's been a lot of fun to watch her grow in confidence at Hopman Cup this week. In her first match, she looked terrified, but through playing mixed doubles with Andy Murray, she seems to be growing in her belief that she can keep up with the big kids. She played Sabine Lisicki very well, looking at all times like she belonged on the same court. It'll be interesting to see if that continues to develop for her.

Sam Stosur (Hopman Cup)On paper, Sam should have won all her matches at Hopman Cup. In the real world, she lost two out of three. Her ability is undeniable, but she isn't exactly projecting the kind of mental strength that's going to sustain her at the top of the game. Is this particularly dismal performance just a sign that, like Amelie Mauresmo in France, she doesn't cope well with the hometown pressure? Is it something bigger than that? Or did she just have a really bad week?

Ana Ivanovic (Brisbane)

Ana's having a winning week, which is obviously much better than what's been happening for her since Roland Garros. But is it really a sign of recovery? There's a tendency to (rather dramatically) pretend like since she won RG in 2008, Ana's been losing in the first round every week. But of course that's not true. She won Linz that fall, made the quarters of Brisbane and Dubai and the final of IW last year, and made the third or fourth round at three out of four Slams last year. Of course, those aren't the results that anyone expects from her, but they're not exactly Nicole Vaidisova, either. So far this week she's beaten-- in tough matches-- people who are ranked significantly below her. Since there's not anyone at Brisbane ranked significantly above her, even a win at the event might not be a very good indicator of where, precisely, she is at this point.

Justine Henin (Brisbane)She's back, and she's winning, but winning how? Her matches have all been close, and with the exception of Nadia Petrova, they've not been against people ranked anywhere near what is popularly thought of as Justine's caliber. We all know what Justine's capable of, her record is clear evidence of that. But it shouldn't be forgotten, either, how dismal the last few months of her "first" career were, or that she has yet to play-- let alone beat-- a top 10 player on her comeback.

Flavia Pennetta (Auckland)Flavia's usual modus operandi is to have a pretty dismal winter, pick up at Acapulco, have a couple of good clay events, and then really come alive on the US Open Series in the summer. But this year in Auckland she's come roaring out of the gates, kicking ass and taking names. Hmmm.

January 04, 2010

Programming Note: I'm super tired today and expecting a long day at work. I'm trying to enlist some help so y'all won't be left with just results and OOPs today, but... if it happens, my apologies.

Anyhoo.

One for you...

Aaaaaaaaaand... one for me:

Not that I actually saw either of those matches. I did see a few others, though, and I have to say that I was more impressed by the way Sabine took down Elena than I was by the way Sorana took down Sam. Jesus, that was a shellacking, even if Elena was serving like... Elena. Flavia looked decent for her first match out, and Reeshard looks like he continues to be his nutty self. [yawn]

January 01, 2010

Auckland has always been my second favourite tournament of the new season (behind Hopman Cup, natch), because of the stupidly Morning Zoo-like antics that go on around it. (For those lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the concept of "Morning Zoo", click here.) I mean...

So far this year, they seem to be trying to make Flavia into the Horse Whisperer. New Zealand is weird.

Interesting Questions: How will Yanina play after the suspension debacle? WTHIGOW Domi, Sania, Alize, Marina Erakovic, Chakky, Makiri, Kaia and Shahar? (Yes, they are all in this draw.) What the fuck stunts will players be required to participate in for our amusement this year?

December 05, 2009

Dude. We get it. You retired to find a man and have a baby. You didn't. Now you're back and you're engaging in some form of performance art. We get it. THE BABY AIN'T THERE.

Justine won her exo over Flipkens 64 64, and word on the Twitter Street is that she looked pretty good. Her "new" serve has a higher toss. Not sure how that gets you a more powerful serve other than the fact that you have more time to load and transfer your weight, but we'll see. She'll play Flavia tomorrow, who beat The Cone 64 60. So...Alize's doing well...

December 04, 2009

This weekend, Justine, Flipkens, The Cone, and Flavs take to the court in an exo in Belgium. This marks Justine's "return" or something. So of course she'll play Flipkens, The Cone and Flavs will play the other match, and the winner will play the final.

November 07, 2009

At 2am this morning, I was reminded how much I love watching clay court tennis.

As expected, Team Italy is well on its way to hoisting the Fed Cup after two straight set wins by Flavia and Tranny.

It didn't take much from Flavia to beat Glatch 3 and 1 in a little over an hour. I really don't know why Alexa says clay is her favorite surface. She. Can. Not. Move. Solid match from Flavia, who constructed points and used the slow clay to perfection. Nothing Glatch could do, really. She was just completely out of her league on this one.

The key match was Franny vs. Melanie. Franny's been on a roll lately and Melanie, well, she's well-rested and a fighter. She's proven us wrong before.

But not this time. Mel came blasting out of the gate and held a 4-2 lead before rain suspended play and the wheels came off the Believe Train. She'd get broken and would drop the tiebreaker and the second set, 62.

So Italy has their 2-0 lead and it's all smiles times for the Poker Team.

It's a good draw for Italy. Flavia on clay is always tough, though Alexa Glatch claims its her favorite surface because it gives her time, but more importantly, Tranny has been on a roll as of late, winning 9 of her last 10 matches. If she can take out the US #1 on the first day, then Italy's golden after Day 1.

All that said, I'm looking forward to this final. You know Italy's going to bring it. Here's hoping MJ finds a way to inspire her kids one more time.

October 21, 2009

An outstanding performance by MaKiri today meant that Agi won't be playing in Doha (unless she makes it as an alternate). The fucked up thing is that because of the Bali qualification rules (discussed at length in our last podcast), she might not even get to play Bali. So we'll have a player, who will likely finish in the top 10, who will play neither YEC. Nice job, WTA. Seriously, can you do *anything* right?

Flava Flav was forced to retire while up a set to Agnes due to a left knee injury, thus ending her campaign for Doha. And since Bali is scheduled during the same weekend as the Fed Cup final, she won't be playing Bali either, even though she's qualified.

October 18, 2009

The biggie for this week is Kremlin Cup; an ATP 250 for the men and a Premier for the women. Since it's the week before Doha, most of the top women are giving Moscow a miss. Never mind that, though, because the four women still in contention for the last spot/alternate status at YEC are all playing. Davai!

ATP

Nads did the draw. This is a picture of her immediately after she drew Safin/Davydenko for the first round. Heh.

Yeah, well done, Nads. So, I suppose we can expect Marat to exit stage right from his last Kremlin Cup relatively early. Although he did beat Kolya there last year. Anyway...

October 17, 2009

Including me, apparently. As I was writing my (very brief) recap of Linz yesterday, I thought to myself, "You know, now that you've said that about Flavs and Aga, they're both going to lose." "Hahaha," my slightly more rational side chided me, "don't be such a moron." I chose to listen to the "rational" side, didn't even bother to highlight the matches on the OOP, and went on my merry way.

Yeah, guys. The power of the jinx, it's fo realz.

Yeah, me too. Flavia lost to Yanina Wickmayer, and Aga to Petra Kvitova, both in straight sets. Ladies, ladies... wha happen? Not to take anything away from Yanina or Petra, both of whom I think are better than their rankings. And, in the interest of YEC, maybe it's better for both Aga and Flavs to have a day off before Kremlin Cup gets under way. But still. [sigh]

The one that confuses me the most is Aga's, and it seems like her serve just did her in. I sort of hated Brad Gilbert for outright laughing at her second serve earlier in the season, but when you see a stat like that she saved 6/8 break points in the second set here, well... it's hard to argue.

(Also, any time I see a Czech player's name now, I hear that reporter in the name video. Linguistic mocking.)

October 16, 2009

So... that work thing happened. And now I am determined to at least get a results post out. It's not gonna be much, but I submit it humbly for your consumption, dear reader.

Shanghai

More retirements?? You're kidding, right? And my Quality Guy Ljubicic, too. Sobs. But he's an old guy, I guess I'll forgive him the hip injury.

Also, Feli won another match? This is beginning to feel like some kind of alternate universe. Also, I was very amused by Kolya's quote that Stepanek "destroyed" him in the second set. I don't think 6-4 counts as destruction, sweetie.

Finally. Actual matches! If I hadn't been so preoccupied all day, I would have been glued to Radwanska/Safarova. Wickmayer/Errani and Kvitova/CSN aren't too shabby, either. I keep thinking how awesome it'll be if Round 1 of the YEC Race to the Bottom comes down to an Aga/Flavs final. That would be faaaaaaaantabulous.

The Shanghai of the WTA. Two retirements in four quarterfinals? Woz/Woz is always a good time, and I'm glad that those matches are at least getting a little closer, but still. More than one meaningful match this late in a tournament would be nice.

October 15, 2009

Okay, not really, I guess. But come on, Radwanska/Cornet? That's a solid match. On paper. Maybe. And Anna-Lena Groenfeld somehow took Flavia to three sets. They're trying. Halfheartedly.

Seriously, I'm perfectly pleased at how these tournaments are progressing, there's just not much to say about Lucie Safarova beating U.Rad. Or Sam Stosur beating Akiko Morigami. Okay, maybe there's something to say about that, Sam winning is a rare enough sight these days.

October 11, 2009

Dinara, Serena, Caro, Sveta, Venus, Elena and Vika are already in. That means there's one spot left for the Year End Championships in Doha...

... and, with two weeks left, five players within striking distance.

(There are zero decent pictures of Marion out there. Kinda funny.)

Jelena, Vera, Aga, Flavia and Marion. Five players, 450 points, one spot. And they're all playing at least once in the next two weeks. And, obviously, not only is the one spot at #8 open, but both the alternate spots are up for grabs, too. Given that for the last two years, alternates have both played and won matches at YEC (including Aga and Marion), you can bet no one's taking those spots or potential points for granted either.

Jelena and Vera are numbers 8 and 9 in the Race right now, respectively, and are separated by a mere five points. They are both playing Moscow, and, of course, are respectively the defending champion (JJ) and and finalist (Bepa). It seems natural to assume that, between those two, whoever goes farthest in Moscow will end up with the final spot for Doha. That really takes the whole thing right down to the wire, since the Moscow final is a mere two days before start of play in Doha. Game. On.

However.

Aga, who vaulted herself back into YEC contention with her finals showing at Beijing this week, is currently #10 in the race (225 points behind JJ at #8, 200 points ahead of Flavia at #11) and is slated to play both Linz and Moscow. A good showing at both could put her right up there, especially if one or both of JJ/Vera crashes out early at Kremlin Cup. Plus, she should be super-motivated: she's on a hot streak, she's defending points from Doha last year, and a win at Linz would also qualify her for the Baby YEC in Bali.

Flavia, currently #11 in the Race, is 425 points out of 8th, which seems like a lot until you consider that she, like Aga, is playing both Linz and Moscow. Since Flavia's already qualified for the Baby YEC, but can't go because of her Fed Cup commitments, it might be that she shows up at both tournaments extra hungry to make it into Doha, either fully qualified or as an alternate.

Marion is #12 in the race, 450 points out of #8 and 225 points out of #10. She's playing Osaka this week and, as the #2 seed, has a decent shot at the title, particularly if Caroline Wozniacki's health is still iffy. On the one hand, since she's so far out of #8 and (unlike the two players directly in front of her) is only playing once, her odds for making the cut seem bad. On the other hand, if I had to pick the steadiest competitor out of all five of these women... it might just be Marion.

So, there you have it. On paper, it looks amazing. As for the reality... well, God knows the WTA has had a hard time living up to billing this year, but I still kind of can't wait.

October 08, 2009

A-Rad came back from a set and 0-4 down to reel off the next six games and win 46 64 62. Good on her. I went to sleep thinking she was about to get bageled.

And Bepa avenged her rather dramatic loss to Flavs at the USO with a rather dramatic three set win in Beijing. Apparently there was a lot of sniping from both of them because of some questionable line calls. And as the China Open site describes:

Early in the match, Pennetta was berating
herself for mistakes, but by the end of the second set, Zvonareva took
her turn. She met with her coach twice during the match.

Five times in the match the chair judge
corrected the line judges. On the fifth, Zvonareva argued to keep the
original call. She then loudly and aggressively scored the next point,
but lost the game.

In the third set, when Zvonareva was up 3-2,
Pennetta took a break after a back injury. After examination on and off
court, she returned to win two more games.

Pennetta fought until the last point, arguing
with the chair judge over shots missing the sideline. Finally,
Zvonareva won the 2 1/2 hour match with a close 7-5 set.

Heh. Sounds like a doozy.

After a mild bit of scouring I couldn't find any pictures from these two matches. Apparently Marion Bartoli is more of a press score than A-Rad, Flavs, or Bepa. But these pics are great.

Perhaps the best thing about that Bepa picture? The caption: "Vera Zvonareva happily met and signed autographs for some of her fans during some time off from matches."

ROMA. The bigger is the amount of beautiful female players in the tour,
the tighter is the connection between tennis players and sex. There
were big rumors about Barbara Schett, a very beautiful player from
Austria, and her habit of having sex after matches in locker rooms. Well
known also the hard date fixed by Francesca Schiavone to someone who
was watching her match in the stand. Follows that trend also Flavia
Pennetta, who talked without taboos in a interview to the TV show “Le
iene”. On a tone serious and facetious in the same time, the beautiful
Italian player discusses burning issues, such as sex and doping.

A QUICKIE WITH SAFIN. She started recalling the well known love story
with Carlos Moya: “During the tour, we shared the rooms and made not
abstinence, we made free sex.” Currently Pennetta is single but she
confesses that, in the tour, three or four male players (the latest one
was a Brasilian player) tried to sexually accost her, but she refused
because she didn’t like them. On the same issue, the Italian player
said that Tommy Haas is the most handsome player, but she “ would make
a quickie with Safin”. No chances to Federer, Nadal, Del Potro, Yannick
Noah…and to Maria Sharapova. She admits that in the tour there are
many lesbian tennis players, but she never had advances from female
colleagues; then she jokes putting sexy poses, and she admits to have
had sex in a locker room, on cement, on grass, and even in a airplane
“during a long leg”

DOPING AND TENNIS. She said that Serena Williams always beats her
because “she is an animal compared to me” and then said that Italian
tennis players are non competitive because they are “not confident”.
Then Pennetta doesn’t evade the question about doping in tennis: “I
think it exists”. If some tennis player use cocaine, that’s for fun but
she never used it. Finally she elects Kournikova as the most beautiful
in the tour, and says that, on a aesthetic basis, it’s a big fight
between her and Francesca Schiavone.

Also, Rybarakova just beat Nads and Maria's on her way to bagel and 'sticking Sam. And we know how Sam feels about 'sticking. Not a fan, methinks.

So it's absolute Bedlam in Tokyo as the top seeds are falling left and right in the first two rounds (as of this post, JJ, A-Rad, and Caro still have to play their 2R matches).

[UPDATE: Caro retires down 05 to CanWoz. So the top 6 seeds are out after their first matches.]

I don't have much to say quite yet. I need some time to process it all. But I have a feeling Billy Shakes was a WTA fan back in the day:

She should have died hereafter ;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time ;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

That was Flavia's reaction when Corina told her she had saved six match points on the way to her comeback win over Bepa, 46 76 60, in what was the match of the tournament so far for the women. The first two sets were high quality and off the charts competitive.

In the end, it all came down to the 15+ minute game on Flavia's serve at 5-6 in the second set. Flavia would play huge, HUGE, on the four match points that she would have to save. Bepa on the other hand played way too conservatively (though she played well) on those points, waiting for Flavia to give her the match.

Yeah, Flavia don't play that. She would go on to hold serve *and* save two more match points in the tiebreak to take the second set and destroy Bepa's spirit.

"I think we broke her brain."

I don't think I can really do justice describing the Bepa breakdown that occurred in that third set. First she left the court to change and was reportedly crying hysterically as she left the court. Then she angrily started ripping off her tape a few points into the third set. Then she yelled at Lynn for not letting her cut off the tape between the first and second game of the set because it wasn't a changeover. Then she fell down and violently slapped herself 5 times. The dropped about 4 F-bombs. And then she cracked her racquet into the net post. I'm sure there was other stuff. But as I was telling my cousins who had never seen her before, "Yeah, um...this happens."

Really really gutsy stuff from Flavia today. Let's be clear, Bepa played well enough to win for 1.99 sets. Other than the fact that she didn't take any risks, Bepa played the match points well I thought. But Flavia had courage. And that was the difference. Well that and Bepa's crazy.

September 04, 2009

Is Italy the new Serbia? No, it's not. Just sounded like a cool thing to say.

Is there any player that looks more in-form than Flavia? After dishing out a double bagel in her last match, she double 'sticked CanWoz today. I always think it's so interesting that Flavs loves the clay but is able to translate the shot making and point construction skills to the hard courts with success. Let that be a lesson to all.

But then came the big upset of the day as Tranny ousted #8 seed and FD fave Viko in three sets, taking the third 6-2. Heck of an effort by Tranny. You are boss.

I haven't seen the match yet so feel free to weigh in in the comments. Did Viko play like crap? Did Tranny take it too her? Who outgrunted who? Did Viko get woozy? On a scale of 10 to 10, how much of a bitch was Viko being?

I have to say though, in all seriousness (well, 5% seriousness), what happened to Viko? She came roaring out of the gates, taking Brisbane, almost beating Serena in AO, beating Dina at IW, and beating Serena for the Miami title. At that point, I think we all began to accept that, whether we like it or not, Viko was going to make a run this year and she was going to break through. That hasn't really happened though, and even though her losses have been to quality opponents (Dina at RG, Serena at SW19, Maria in LA, JJ in Cincy, and Kim in Toronto), her second half progress has been disappointing. I wonder how much of it is a fitness issue. Maybe her first full year of being a legitimate contender has taken its toll.

It'll be interesting to see what happens the rest of the year. Given all the buzz around her during the first four months of the season, wouldn't it be weird if she didn't qualify for Doha?

September 01, 2009

Just a reminder. Sam and Elena are the US Open series champs. On the men's side, Muzz and DelPo finished second and third, respectively, and for the ladies Flavs and JJ finished second and third. All six are now in the running for bonus money depending on how well they do in NYC.

It's a
big change for a player who was taken to the hospital during her first
junior tournament because she was so nervous she couldn't breathe. It's
also a welcome change from the end of last season, when Pennetta
learned how fleeting success can be.

In October, Federico Luzzi, an
ATP pro from Italy and one of Pennetta's best friends, died of leukemia
at age 28. Luzzi's playing career had been ended earlier in the year
when he was suspended for 200 days and fined $50,000 for placing nearly
300 bets on tennis matches. (He was not accused of fixing matches,
though he once bet $4.50 on himself to win.) Luzzi was working on a
comeback last fall when he retired from an Italian league match with a
fever. He saw a doctor and was told the following week that he had
cancer; three days later, he was dead. Pennetta and Potito Starace, a pro who had lived with Luzzi, were devastated.

"I grew up with him," Pennetta
said. "We didn't see each other so much because the tours are
different, but he was the kind of person you see one time after three
months and it's the same. It was very tough, something you cannot
explain."

Pennetta has had sadness in her personal life as well. She had dated Carlos Moya,
the former No. 1 and 1998 French Open champion, for several years, and
says they were talking about marriage before Moya left her in 2007. She
says she is single now, and happy about it.

"Everything happens for a reason," she said.

As she has moved up the rankings
this year, Pennetta has kept Luzzi in her mind. She's not sure why she
is having so much more success this season than previous years. Perhaps
it's because her life no longer begins and ends with the sport. In
fact, she's already looking forward to a life after tennis: First, a
family, and then career helping to develop Italian players. And maybe
her own motorbike, too.

August 31, 2009

August 29, 2009

Be happy, Flavia. At least you don't have to stay around for this clusterfucked tournament anymore and you can get on with focusing on the USO.

The rain has wreaked absolute havoc on New Haven and I feel pretty bad for everyone (especially the guys) who've actually made it deep into the tournament. At least the ladies were able to get their semifinal matches completed late yesterday, with Caro ending Flavs' charge for the US Open Series title and Vezzie taking out Momes.

But the guys had to come out Saturday morning to finish their semifinal matches and will turn around to play the final TONIGHT. That's right, Sam and FeVer came out this morning and won their matches over Chucho and Igor, respectively, and they'll play each other in the final in a few hours.

You know, because the best preparation for a grueling US Open is to play two matches in one day only two days before Main Draw play begins. Here's hoping the USO organizers cut them some slack when they do their scheduling.

August 25, 2009

Flavia and Boots attempt to play tennis on a football pitch. Hilarity insues. And awesomeness. But more hilarity. Is Boots not the WTA's dream? They just keep finding ways to rope her into these promos.

August 15, 2009

Dina blasted Flavs off the court with a 62 60 win. Now mind you, Dina had a 6-0 H2H against Flavia going into the match, so the result isn't surprising. But wow, that was one of the cleanest matches I've seen Dina play all year. Clean hitting combined with a clearly fatigued Flavs equals 2 and 0. Dina advances to her 9th final of the year.

August 13, 2009

Congrats to Flavia, for playing steady tennis and beating Venus in straight sets, 76 64. Her reward? On Monday she'll become the first Italian woman to ever crack the top 10. She does this at the ripe old age of 27, no less. Much deserved!

As for Venus, she didn't bring her A game. But she was still playing well enough to win against most players.

August 11, 2009

Despite the LA tournament organizers trying their best to make this the most annoying tourney ever, I had a blast attending the tournament. It really could have sucked. The night before I was set to take off, both Dina and Ana lost, the latter being unsurprising and the former being, well, possibly a game changer. I mean, I was shelling out $500 to *not* see Dinara? What the fuck?

But it all proved to be worth it. Despite the 8 dollar beers, prohibition on bringing in outside food or drink (though that didn't stop *some* people), and getting yelled at for bringing in a camera with a lens longer than 3 inches, it was so great to be in the sun and watch tennis. But what made it awesome was the great company of Victoria, Katie, and Tracy, and the great matchups and high quality tennis (uh...let's ignore the hell that was the two hour Masha/Ula clusterfuck).